A New Drug For Glaucoma Has Been Approved By The US FDA

Bausch + Lomb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Valeant Pharmaceuticals, has just announced that the US FDA has approved the launch of VYZULTA for glaucoma(latanoprostene bunod eye drops, 0.024%). It's also the first prostatin that has been approved for decrease intraocular pressure.

Glaucoma is a common eye disease in China. The number of Chinese patients may exceed over ten million! It is also the second biggest vision killer after cataracts. The main cause of glaucoma is that the aqueous fluid cannot be discharged normally, resulting in increased intraocular pressure. Prolonged intraocular pressure can damage the optic nerve and induce loss of vision and even blindness. drugs or surgery used for Reducing intraocular pressure can slow down the development of disease and reduce the risk of disease.

The approved VYZULTA is a daily single drug therapy with a dual mechanism in the treatment of glaucoma----Latanoprost acid can be used to promote the discharge of aqueous membrane; Butanediol mononitrate can release Nitric oxide, which promotes the discharge of aqueous fluid through trabecular meshes and Schlemm's canal. The two-pronged approach has been tested in a range of clinical trials: VYZULTA showed a non-inferiority effect and an excellent efficacy compared with the eyedrops of thiazide maleate.

VYZULTA can significantly decrease intraocular pressure compared to lantaloprop. In addition, its short-term treatment and long-term safety have been confirmed.

"The approval of VYZULTA gives glaucoma patients a new treatment regimen that can be used to permanently reduce intraocular pressure. This is the only controllable risk factor to slow the progression of this disease, "says Joseph c. Papa, Valeant's President and chief executive: "We look forward to bringing this new development to patients with glaucoma at the end of this year."

"The safety and efficacy of VYZULTA have been verified in multiple clinical trials. The results of these trials were very positive, and compared with the eye drops of the maleate and the drops in the eye and the lantaloprop, VYZULTA significantly reduced the intraocular pressure in the statistics" Dr. Robert n. Weinreb of the University of California San Diego said: "As a molecule with a dual mechanism, VYZULTA can be used as a new treatment. At the same time, through the trabecular meshwork and the scleral membrane pathway, the aqueous fluid was discharged and the intraocular pressure was reduced."

Reference:
Wuxi: " the drug for glaucoma was approved by FDA" 2017-11-03